Malaysia

Once the judge announced his decision, the courtroom erupted to cheers of Hidup Rakyat, Hidup Perjuangan' (Long live the people, long live the fight).

By Susan Loone

October 10, 2011 -- Malaysiakini -- The 24 Socialist Party of Malaysia (Parti Sosialis Malaysia) activists facing charges under the Internal
Security Act (ISA) and Societies Act were given a discharge not
amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) by a Butterworth sessions court. The decision on six other activists, who were absent today, was put off to October 28.

July 17, 2011 -- Green Left Weekly -- A week after Malaysian authorities failed to stop people taking to
the streets of the capital Kuala Lumpur on July 9 to demand free and
fair elections, six activists from the Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM)
remained in detention without trial. The detainees include federal member of parliament Dr Jeyakumar
Deveraj, who has been hailed by a prominent local writer as “the
Malaysian saint of the poor”.

PSM secretary general S. Arutchelvan told Green Left Weekly
that he agreed with the civil society organisers of the July 9 Bersih
2.0 (“bersih” means clean in Malay) that the number of people who defied
incredible police repression to come out in the streets that day was
about 50,000. Police reportedly detained up to 1600 people and repeatedly fired teargas into peaceful groups of people.

Jeyakumar Devaraj, Sungai
Siput MP, is currently detained without trial under the Emergency Ordinance, together with five other Socialist Party members, on suspicion of “causing civil unrest by
any means”.

Statement by Bersih 2.0 organisers: Malaysians show great bravery, the struggle for clean and fair elections continues

July 9, 2011 -- Bersih 2.0 -- Bersih 2.0 is proud that in spite of all the
obstacles and hindrances that we were forced to face, Malaysians of all
walks of life overcame the oppressive acts of the police to come out
peacefully and in incredibly large numbers to show their love for their
country and for the principles of justice.

We are nonetheless horrified that several hundred people have been
detained, many of them without any justification whatsoever. We
particularly condemn the arrests of Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevesan and Maria
Chin Abdullah, two members of the Bersih 2.0 Steering Committee.

The only violence witnessed was perpetrated by the police, who
unleashed immense amounts of tear gas and chemical laced water on
innocent members of the public. Police also baton charged those who
gathered, injuring many and some very seriously.

The detention of these socialists was designed to intimidate
people from supporting a broad mass rally for free and fair
elections that called for July 9 by civil society groups united in
the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih, which means “clean”).

Manila, July 1, 2011
– Members of Partido Lakas ng Masa held another picket in front of the
Malaysian embassy today. PLM protested the arrest and detention of 30
pro-democracy activisits in Malaysia, including Romy Castillo, deputy
general-secretary of PLM, who was in Malaysia for an exchange visit
program with the Parti Sosialis Malaysia.

By the Socialist Party of Malaysia

July 1 -- The PSM is alarmed that its detained members are undergoing torture and
inhumane interrogation from special Bukit Aman officers who have been brought
specifically to extract information as most of those detained have
preferred to use their rights under the law to speak to the court and
not to the police.

Reliable sources from the police and those detained have confirmed that
the police seem to be not making any headway in their investigation
and hence they have brought in the thugs from Bukit Aman as a last
minute bid to extract information.

PSM calls for the immediate release of all detainees and, if the need
be, we call for them to be bailed or to be charged immediately. We call
upon the police to stop all harassment, torture and inhumane treatment
immediately.

July 1, 2011 -- Emergency protest outside Malaysian Airlines offices in Sydney to demand
the release of 30 Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) detained since June
25 and accused of waging "war against the king"... the "evidence" a few
political t-shirts in their posession! These arrests are part of a
crackdown on oppositionists in the lead up to the July 9 Bersih 2.0
democracy march in Kuala Lumpur. Photos by Peter Boyle.

June 27, 2011 -- Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- At least 31 members of the Socialist Party of Malaysia (Parti Sosialis Malaysia, PSM) -- including member of parliament Dr Michael Jeyakumar -- have been detained by police. The Malaysian government is whipping up a massive red-scare campaign around the Bersih 2.0 rally planned for July 9 (see statement below), and is increasingly resorting to repression to try to prevent an expected huge attendance.

June 10, 2011 -- The Partido
Lakas ng Masa (Party of the Labouring Masses, Philippines) condemns any actions that increase military tensions in the
region and contribute to a regional military conflict, by countries that lay
claim to the Spratly
Islands. We are opposed
to any sabre-rattling and stand for a negotiated, political settlement of the
disputed claims to the area. Therefore we deplore China’s strong-arm tactics and
bullying, which undermines efforts towards a peaceful, political settlement, of
the disputed claims.

The Spratly
Islands, less than four-square kilometres of land area spread over 425,000
square kilometres of sea and usually submerged, probably have
strategic importance fuelling the numerous territorial disputes. The area holds
significant reserves of oil and natural gas:
reportedly some 17.7 billion tons of oil and natural gas reserves, larger than
the 13 billion tons held by Kuwait,
thus making it the fourth largest reserve bed in the world. In an energy hungry
world, these reserves intensify the disputed claims over the area.

Joint statement of the Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) and the Socialist Alliance (Australia)

May 18, 2011 -- The Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) and the Socialist Alliance in
Australia denounce the recent agreement made between the governments of
Malaysia and Australia, whereby Australia will send 800 asylum seekers
who have been detained by Australian authorities to Malaysia in exchange
for 4000 refugees currently in Malaysia.

The arrangement for this “Malaysian solution” to asylum seekers
attempting to arrive in Australia clearly shows that the Australian
government is washing its hands of its responsibility to protect
refugees and is “off-shoring” or “outsourcing” the violation of refugee
rights to Malaysia, a country with no proper legal instruments to
protect the rights of refugees. Both the governments of Malaysia and
Australia have not taken the plight of refugees and asylum seekers
seriously, and only treat them like trade-able commodities.

May 12, 2011 -- The Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) denounces the recent agreement made between the governments of Malaysia and Australia, whereby Australia will send 800 asylum seekers who have been detained by Australian authorities to Malaysia in exchange for 4000 refugees currently in Malaysia.

The arrangement for this “Malaysian solution” to asylum seekers attempting to arrive in Australia clearly shows that the Australian government is washing its hands off its responsibility to protect refugees and is “off-shoring” or “outsourcing” the violation of refugees' rights to Malaysia, a country with no proper legal instruments to protect the rights of refugees.

Both the governments of Malaysia and Australia have not taken the plight of refugees and asylum seekers seriously, and only treat them like tradeable commodities.

STOP PRESS: Socialist Party of Malaysia leaders, May Day marchers arrested

May 1, 2011 -- Malaysiakini -- PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan earlier tried to negotiate
with the police near the Chow Kit monorail station before being taken
away by police officers. Arutchelvan, one of the key members of the
Labour Day organising committee, was supposed to have joined others in
the march from Chow Kit to the Dataran Merdeka. In a a short
press conference prior to his arrest, Arutchelvan told reporters that he
considers the police obstruction to the peaceful march a "violation of
basic rights". He also said that he had already informed the
police prior to the march, and said such a notice is sufficient as
opposed to a police permit.

The Devil’s Milk:
A social history of rubberBy John TullyMonthly Review Press, 2011

[Order the The Devil’s Milk from
Monthly Review Press HERE.
John Tully launched the book in Melbourne on February 17, at Readings Books,
Carlton (309 Lygon St). He will also launch it in New York City on February 22,
7.30pm, at The Brecht Forum, 451 West
Street.]

February 18, 2011 – Links International
Journal of Socialist Renewal -- This new book from Monthly Review Press –
by Australian socialist John Tully -- documents the history of rubber and the
role it has played in the development of capitalism.

Rubber is an essential industrial
material, although underappreciated by most of us, even though we are
surrounded by it. Since its industrial uses began to be fully appreciated in
the 1800s, the quest for rubber has been, in Tully’s words, “a paradigm of
imperialism”.